Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
‘You get old, you start to question shit, regret shit.’
asserted
you → get → shit
That’s where a bitter, been-there-done-that John Malkovich is at in Martin McDonagh’s latest film, Wild Horse Nine.
asserted
Malkovich → ’ → film
It’s a line that demonstrates McDonagh’s unique ability to blend profane black humour with profound melancholy, and it sets the scene for the familiarly bittersweet cocktail to come.
asserted
cocktail → ’ → scene
Malkovich is on top form as Chris, a weary, seventy-something CIA operative stationed in Chile in 1973 with his younger, burger-munching buddy and colleague, Lee, played by Sam Rockwell.
asserted
Malkovich → station → Rockwell
Chris has been involved in many high-profile, covert operations over the years (Guatemala, Congo, Dallas were ‘successful’ he says, The Bay of Pigs ‘less successful’).
asserted
Bay → involve → Pigs
No one can know that, of course – the people he’s killed and the outcomes he has influenced are things that he himself must contend with.
asserted
he → know → that
Now, reaching the end of his life and stricken with a terminal illness, he’s doing just that.
asserted
he → reach → that
He and Lee are planning the CIA’s latest operation: a coup d’état to overthrow the newly elected president, Salvador Allende, Chile’s first-ever democratically elected socialist.
asserted
He → plan → president
Chris is losing interest in his work, though, and claims he has always wanted to go to Easter Island.
uncertain
he → lose → Island
Lee agrees to go with him, partly out of empathy but partly to watch over him – their boss, MJ, played by a brilliant Steve Buscemi, is anxious that Chris keeps giving away CIA secrets.
asserted
Chris → agree → secrets
‘We’ve come down here to destabilise your democracy and it’s going great’, he tells two Chilean students at the airport… not a good start.
asserted
he → come → airport
The pair drive a rental car around the picturesque island visiting its famous Moai statues (Chris calls them ‘the big heads’) and bickering with each other and fellow tourists: Chris tells a British couple that he ‘was always on Ireland’s side’, for example.
asserted
he → drive → example
He also monologues constantly on everything from IRA bombs and Hank Williams to varieties of cheese and the wild horses that roam the island, frequently prompting hilarious cuts to Rockwell’s confused face.
asserted
that → monologue → face
The two actors make a fine pair, revelling in McDonagh’s salty, rhythmic dialogue but at any moment capable of pivoting to genuinely melancholic reflection, like a misty-eyed, morphine-induced admission from Chris: ‘I can’t wait to see the heads…
asserted
I → make → heads
This time tomorrow we will have seen the heads.
asserted
we → see → heads
This is certainly one of McDonagh’s most philosophical works, reflecting on mortality between bouts of laugh-out-loud dark comedy and all against a backdrop of real political tragedy.
asserted
This → reflect → tragedy
That broader scale means Wild Horse Nine doesn’t have quite the same intimate warmth as his masterful The Banshees of Inisherin or the tragic bite of his even-swearier In Bruges, but Malkovich and Rockwell bickering and bonding among those stern and stately statues makes for an excellent watch all the same.
asserted
bickering → mean → watch
The Aporia
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